Here at “RenaissanceRonin” a while back ( a few years ago, in fact) , we started highlighting people who lived inspiring lives.

“The Life and Times…” isn’t just about steel and stone structures. It’s also about the families, made of steel and stone, that built this great nation. It’s about preserving that and our heritage as we look to our family’s safety and future.

These people remind us that we’re bigger than the sum of our parts. Their lives are literally lived “bigger than their bodies”. Their hearts, their deeds remind us that life is meant for living. They live their lives, pushing their boundaries, in a self-imposed journey of discovery. They know that life isn’t about arriving at the destination, it’s about the journey and what happens along the way.

While I was contemplating the design of a new “Corten Cordwood Bunker” for my young son Joshua on a ranch project that we are developing (inspired by a cool cabin we saw a pair of photographs of)…

If you thought this was a “hunting blind”… you’d be wrong. LOL! Joshua wants a bunker to play MINECRAFT in. I’m guessing the sound levels emerging from this box as he gets blown up by Creepers and Withers would frighten away even the boldest of “God’s Creatures”.

WARNING: While safe for “workplace review”… the following content and images included in this post may make it unsuitable for small children.

I thought about the people who are curious about my personal path. People often ask me why I moved to (gasp!) Montana. It’s lost on some folks. They imagine places like Montana and all they see in their heads is a barren wasteland devoid of fast food, sub-divisions and shopping centers. They can’t imagine living in a place where they suck the sidewalks in after dark. They can’t imagine a place where they are forced to survive without 24/7 entertainment spots to keep them occupied…

I mean, most of the people making the inquiries live in “civilized places” like SoCal and NY.

Here in Montana, a life lived includes understanding life itself. We’re sustainable, self-reliant and self-responsible. We understand “the dance”… that life is lived in a balance that sometimes seems precarious. We understand that there is no river of “milk and honey” except in the fairy tales we tell our children before bedtime. We understand conservation and stewardship. We understand commitment and hard work. We understand that success at any level means that you “never give up”. We understand that you eat what you kill… or you use a camera.

Or else… You do not waste the gifts that the “Big Guy Upstairs” has given you…

I’m very fortunate that I can live in a place that is still relatively unspoiled and wild. Sure, we still have Hybrid Prius and “Hillary” bumper sticker sightings from time to time, but our days are usually filled with the glory of Mother Nature surrounded by those of our kind who love where we live despite the challenges it brings.

By the way… we HAVE 24/7 entertainment venues. It’s called “the mountains and the rivers”. You don’t stand in line waiting your turn, you don’t have to buy tickets far in advance. All you have to do is put fuel in your 4 wheeler or saddle up a horse.

You see… living in Montana has taught me many things. We don’t languish on the sofa. We live our lives in the outdoors. We don’t drive exotic cars. Our trucks and horses are our transportation to the places where we hunt, we fish and we work in one of the most beautiful and challenging environments in the United States. We’re tool users. We set an example for our children and our kids aren’t like “other” kids.

Our kids are raised to live, learn and love in a land that is beautiful, wild and free.

It’s not just “me”, either. We’re surrounded by friends and neighbors who harbor the same love for this land.

Take 19 year old Taylor. I mean, don’t really “take” her, as we kinda want to keep her.

She looks like any other college girl in America, right? You can picture her headed off to the mall to do some serious shopping, I bet.

Um… Sure, she may enjoy the pursuit of that perfect dress or that incredible pair of jeans…

And when she’s doing that, the drive to those urban areas that support such activities allows you sights like this;

And that’s when Taylor goes into “I’m from Montana, dammit…” mode.

This weekend Taylor and her dad Sean headed out to see what bow season would bring. Apparently, they went to Elk Heaven.

Taylor says:

“After hard work, dedication and determination I finally got my first Bull Elk with my bow. I hit him straight through the lungs as my arrow passed through him without hitting any ribs. Ran about 50 yards and dropped, very satisfied with my first kill being so humane!”

As you can see… Taylor isn’t a “camp follower”. Taylor is an Alpha Predator. Taylor is the kind of young lady this nation was founded by. Her actions, her spirit define America and what we stand for. We take the bull, by the horns… antlers.

Taylor got her bull. She got an incredible bull.

PS. Her dad, a pretty accomplished hunter in his own right… didn’t. LOL!

It’s girls like this that remind us just how lucky we are to live here in the land of the free and the home of the brave.

It’s young ladies like this that remind us that there are still parents among us who understand “the nature of nature” and they live it to the fullest, as they prepare their children for life’s journeys. And while they do that, they feast on Elk.

We’re very proud of you, Taylor! You’re inspiring!

(And before some of you get all “You @&#^$%!! You killed Bambi!”… unless you’re eating tofu and salad greens, you realize that the Big Guy put animals here for us to eat. Living life also includes death and the honoring of those animals that nourish our families. Life is about honoring and respecting the balance of life. Get over it.)

We’ve put down the welders, turned off the machinery and we’re eagerly awaiting the tribe of troublemakers that will show up in our yards tonight! Here at Corten Central, we want you to have the best Halloween experience ever! As you venture out with your little ones, please consider the following tips:

Nothing beats “TRICK-OR-TREATING”!

Keep little ghosts and goblins safe with costumes that have closed toe shoes and some kind of reflectors.
As cool as they may look… leave the masks off for the trick or treating.
Stay on the sidewalks and out of the streets.
Cross at corners and look both ways.
Only visit homes with their porch lights turned on
Carry a flashlight. Carry a big knife. Carry a taser. Carry a bazooka. Safety first! Your mileage may vary.
Parents, wear comfortable shoes so you can keep your little ones safe by walking with them.

If you’re at home handing out the goodies;

Resist the urge to jump outta the bushes and scare little kids. (It may be funny for a split second… but it ain’t kosher!) LOL!
Make sure there are enough outdoor lights on to let kids navigate your walk and porch safely.
While it’s fun to hide “Trick or Treat tripwires” and snares in the leaves…
Sweep the leaves from the sidewalks and the steps.
Clear the porch or front yard of any obstacles that a child could trip over. It could be your kid. Be responsible.
Restrain any household pets (or better yet bring them in the house and put them in a bedroom).

If you’re headed out to a party, remember this;
Every cop for a hundred miles is on duty tonight. They WILL be looking for YOU.
Be Safe! Be Sane! Be SOBER!
There will be idiots and sobriety checkpoints everywhere. Act accordingly!

Now get out there and get some candy!

Guys, remember to hide the goodies in your ManCave after trick or treating so that your significant other can’t find them and toss them out while she reminds you that you’ve lost your girlish good looks and figure. LOL!

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ISBU (Shipping Container Homes) often begin their lives as ideas passed back and forth across dinner tables. The people discussing these big metal boxes as housing are often rubbing pennies together to makes quarters to make it happen. I know this is true because it’s the way MY first “real” ISBU home happened. I’ve lived in “Corten Cabins” and even little “Corten Chateaus” before that, but we were eager to go “all the way” and live in a full-blown “Corten Castle”. That house was the predecessor to THIS house and it’s now been built by a dozen families scattered across three continents:

While we were trying to connect the dots, we spent a LOT of time trying to determine where all the required nickels and dimes would come from.

We saved money every place we could. We didn’t go out to eat as much. We took lunches to work. We didn’t go to movies, we rented them. We found cool ways to celebrate family holidays without bankrupting ourselves. We didn’t go on luxury trips, we went camping. We just chipped away at the edges.

The “Happy Holidays” period was the worst. Between Hanukkah and Christmas, it just killed us. (When our children were little, they didn’t miss a holiday, regardless of it’s origin. We figured they could choose paths later in life, when they began to form their own answers to hard questions.) I admit that quite often, everything we saved ended up in brightly packaged boxes clad with bows and candy canes, as we used them to build a pile under that tree that looked like a foundation.

If you’re like me, it’s that time of year when we give Santa a jumpstart and order a ton of stuff on-line. While we watch our bank balance flow away like the current of the Bitterroot River, there IS a “silver lining”. You CAN earn some substantial cash back if you’re a member of the right “cash-back” sites;

What is cash back?

Cash back is money that you actually earn by making qualifying online purchases through participating retailers that participate in a rebate program through the use of an intermediary cash back website. What basically happens is that the retailers are actually paying you to stay home and shop online. The theory is simple; the more you spend, the more cash back you receive. With cash back being offered from 1000s of online retailers, you can get cash back on just about any kind of shopping imaginable. We regularly see great rebates promoted from stores like Amazon, Home Depot, Lowes, WalMart, Kmart, Sears, Macy’s, and Target, just to name a few.

How do I earn cash back when shopping online?

There’s a method to “cash-back shopping”. Instead of going directly to the online retailer you usually shop at, you visit the cash back site they are affiliated with first and then click their link to your retailer’s website. This is important. By doing this first, your purchase will be tracked by the cash back site and they’ll keep track of what you spend. That means that you will end up receiving cash back after your successful purchase. Usually, you hit a target number/amount and they either send you a check or pay your reward money into your bank or Paypal account.

So, in honor of the upcoming Holidays and all the sales that go along with it, here’s a list of the top 5 cash-back sites we’ve used:

Ebates offers a $10 sign-up bonus. Payments are automatically sent out, via check or PayPal, quarterly if you have earned over $5. If your account has earned under $5 that money is rolled over to the next quarter.

FatWallet does not currently offer a sign up bonus, but it more than makes up for that in the generous percentages of cash back it offers. You can request a payment via check or PayPal once your account reaches $10.

ShopDiscover offers many people’s favorite cash back program. There is a catch. The catch is that you have to have a Discover card to join. Discover Cardholders earn serious cash back by shopping through ShopDiscover. If you become a Discover cardmember you can get a $50 Cashback Bonus with your first purchase within three months, and earn rewards on every purchase after that.

Here at RR we’re still working on projects that will roll into 2014 and become the foundation for future families. 2014 will bring us what we seek in it. 2014 will reveal all, depending on our viewpoint and determination.

2014 will grant to us the ability to change the world… each and every one of us, depending on our focus.

As I look toward 2014, I’m reminded of something that one of my favorite “sages” said (there’s a New Year’s Resolution” or three in here too!) ;

“The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider Freeways, but narrower viewpoints.

We spend more, but have less, we buy more, but enjoy less.

We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time.

We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgment, more experts, yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness.

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Flooding in Colorado. Tornadoes in Nebraska. Loitering in Montana. What do they all have in common?

In each of these places, you can be exposed to things you don’t want.

Most of us hear “Salmonella” and either think of bad food… or a really bad horror movie on cable.

But did you know that Salmonella is contagious?

Yes, Virginia… Salmonella infection is indeed contagious. Like any other bacteria based infection, you have to be careful to avoid spreading that nasty bacteria to other people. Did you know that there are over 2,400 different kinds of Salmonella bacteria?

The symptoms are a fever, abdominal cramps, and diarrhea. Crankiness and a lack of sleep follows, as well as scowling from family members you’re being crabby to. At least that’s how it works in MY house.

The CDC (Center for Disease Control, which I think is still in SHUTDOWN due to those Congressional buffoons that can’t play nice together) says;

“People who are more likely to become ill from Salmonella include:

young children and infants (their developing immune systems have a harder time fighting off the infection) older people

those with weakened immune systems (such as people with HIV and those with sickle cell anemia)

people who take cancer drugs

people who take antacids or stomach acid suppression medication

Preventive methods are especially important when preparing food or providing care for infants, older adults and people with compromised immune systems. Be sure to cook food thoroughly and refrigerate or freeze food promptly.”

Rule Number One:

Wash your danged hands!

Even if your hands ain’t “danged”, wash ’em anyway.

Washing your hands thoroughly can help prevent the transfer of salmonella bacteria to your mouth or to any food you’re preparing. Use anti-bacterial soap and wash your hands thoroughly for at least a minute under warm water.

You remember what your mom told you, right? You should always wash your hands after you do any of the following:

Use the toilet

Change a diaper

Handle raw meat or poultry

Clean up after your pet

Touch reptiles or birds

Remember, some foods are “anti-social”. Just like you have to keep weird Uncle Jeffrey away from Aunt Gladys, you have to keep some things separate to keep things from getting out of control.

Proteins like raw meat, fish (and seafood in general) and poultry should always be stored away from other food items. Additionally, you should have a cutting board in your kitchen dedicated to those foods. You don’t want to prepare veggies on a cutting board that had meat on it previously.

Don’t contaminate prepared (cooked) foods by placing it directly onto surfaces that were used to prepare raw meats.

Don’t eat RAW eggs. No matter what you see on TV eating raw eggs is risky. Even the SHELLS can carry the bacteria.

We all sneak off a big pinch of stuff like cookie dough and homemade ice creams. Don’t do it. They contain raw eggs and raw eggs are a leading source of salmonella.

You want diarrhea and cramps? Raw cookie dough will do it.

Diarrhea can lead to dehydration — and diarrhea caused by Salmonella can be quite severe, you need to start hydrating yourself. You should drink plenty of water or drinks that contain electrolytes (you an find these sports drinks at your supermarket).

Lot’s of people with Salmonella reach for the anti-diarrheal medicines in their bathroom medicine cabinets, but it’s not a good idea for people with salmonellosis. These anti-diarrheals can actually make the infection last longer. Check with your doctor or nurse practitioner first, okay? If you have a fever, you can take acetaminophen or ibuprofen to reduce your temperature, but only IF your consulted medical professional says it’s the right treatment.

I promised myself that I wouldn’t do a 9.11 soapbox speech, so I’m not going to. Suffice to say I hope that we all take a moment to remember those lost, and that it leads to a moment when we can be thankful for what we have.

In the days preceding 9.11, we’ve seen so many conflicting messages about that terrible event 12 years ago that I wonder if we’re all speaking the same language.

In these trying times, Americans need to focus on COMMUNICATION.

Apparently, Steve Jobs is still directing traffic from the grave, insuring that “An Apple a day keeps the Android away….” 😉

Yes, I DO realize that poor Steve is probably rolling over in his grave at the prospects of the iPhone 5C. I’m guessing that, like many of us, he’d think that the “C” stands for “Cheap”. 😉

That said, there’s something else to think about;

Apple designed and then manufactured an “everyman’s” iPhone. Now, if we believe the hype, just about anyone can afford an iPhone.

“A lot of people are bashing the iPhone 5C as “cheap” – my bud Chris Pirillo seems to be defending it every post and rightly so. I’m starting to think the “C” stands for iPhone 5ChrisPirillo. Even though its fun to go there with an easy joke (an iphone for peasants) its actually very smart. If you understand the China Mobile Ltd deal – you might want to buy some Apple stock – The iPhone 5C is targeted to them and if you understand why Apple recently closed a deal with them, its freaking huge.”

Whatever you use, iOS or Android. use it today to call someone that you care about and remind them that they are in your thoughts. I’m reminded, in reflection, that the whole world can change in a split second…

This leads to an email folder full of hate mail from irate housing pros (who also whine that we’re “UnAmerican” for “stealing jobs from them”), who claim that we’re teaching you to use garbage to build structure.

Bull. We’ve NEVER advised anyone to use “junk” to build with. We don’t teach people to build “hovels”. We teach them to build, strong, sustainable, AFFORDABLE homes.

What we HAVE advised you to do is to find innovative ways to use materials (within specification and purpose, of course) to lower your building or even (gasp!) furnishing costs.

These same guys will tell you that you can’t really build “anything” for under $150 a square foot.

We usually suggest that they double up on their meds and read more. Maybe they’ll learn something.

Do we collect and use materials like “scrap” rigid insulation in our builds? You bet.

“Rigid” performs extremely well. You can find it in dumpsters at commercial build sites all the time. Ask a contractor or “yard boss” and they may just let you haul it off. It gets that bulky stuff out of their dumpster so that they have room for more garbage. We see it on Craigslist and Freecycle, all the time. Is using it “labor intensive”? YES. You take large, cast off scrap pieces of foam and then piece them together like a jigsaw puzzle. It takes some forethought to get it right. But, it costs you SWEAT instead of cash. The benefit is that you get a high performance insulation package out of the deal.

But you can find gems in (actually UNDER) the stuff that gets delivered to your building site as well;

This is a bed that you could build in a few hours, tops.

Some thoughts;

Sand the pallets (edges) to make them less prone to snagging your sheets or shins.

Nail pallets together to keep them from moving once you’ve established your “pattern”.

Use recycled LED Christmas Tree lights to illuminate under the bed. Low power and low heat.

Remember that beds aren’t just for “sleeping”. If you’re in a relationship (or you are building this for a child) consider putting a box springs under the mattress, to help “fortify” the bed system.

And then, have fun with it. While your neighbors are spending boatloads on high priced furnishings, you’ll have cash left over for “family nights”. 🙂

This is one of those week’s where you find yourself thinking about “Mom”. I mean… Sunday IS quickly approaching.

But for us, this week, It took an “odd turn”. We started thinking about a lot of other people’s MOMS.

Here at RR we support a lot of causes. One of them that is near and dear to our hearts is “Breast Cancer”.

We’ve personally lost family members to this terrible disease. Moms, wives, daughters. It’s a river of sadness that never stops flowing. We’ve shed tears over this and that is an understatement.

One of my best friends has a double mastectomy she received because of breast cancer. She has always been an incredibly beautiful woman. She was the textbook “California Beach Girl”. She had “curves for miles” and she was a pleasure to behold.

(Okay, I admit it. Men are more visual than women. We know it, YOU know it, so get over it.) 🙂

Despite her hardships, she is STILL the most beautiful girl in the room, everywhere she goes. She may not have “the big t-shirt” anymore, but she’s still a knock-out. She’s paid her price to stay alive and she’s an inspiration to us all. We adore her. She reminds us that “beauty” isn’t just based on media hype for “this or that” figure. It’s not just “skin-deep”. She’s a lioness who wears her scars well and she keeps moving forward with confidence, helping others by deed and “by example”.

As a result of her impact on our lives, we’ve been involved with groups that focus on helping those afflicted with this disease as much as we possibly can. Many of these organizations are struggling as the economy tightens the purse strings of those with charities in mind.

Working for a “Cure for Breast Cancer” is noble. We’re all for those who push to aid those in need, especially in this cause. When you think of breast cancer, most of us think “pink”. The Susan G. Komen Foundation is a front-runner in making breast cancer visible to the masses.

With walk-a-thons, public events and fund-raisers, The Susan G. Komen Foundation makes a lot of positive noise.

But, like many other charitable organizations, they see their coffers dwindling.

So, like many other families that start thinking about what they have and where they can send it to do the most good… we took a look at what the Komen folks do. We wished that we hadn’t. Truly. We’re sorry that we looked. If you look at the numbers, now we feel like we (and more importantly Breast Cancer victims) are being duped.

2012 may have been a very bad year for the Susan G. Komen Foundation, but you’d never know it by looking at the tax returns for it’s leader. 2012 was a very good year for its CEO, Nancy Brinker. I’m talking about “over the top” good.

Last year, Brinker said, “We are doing everything in our power to ensure that women have access to quality cancer care and the support that they need.” It’s a worthy, necessary goal. In our opinion, Brinker (at the very least) misspoke.

After so much disaster and hardship, it seems the woman who’s benefited most from Komen’s Breast Cancer charity is… um… Nancy Brinker.

Many of us have read that in 2012, the breast cancer organization ignited a firestorm by announcing it was pulling its funding for breast cancer screenings and services for Planned Parenthood.

As you can imagine, this raised some eyebrows and some ire. Those screenings and services are one of the front-lines of Breast Cancer defense for American women. Komen hastily and ineptly apologized, then backpedaled.

We witnessed Karen Handel, Komen’s “Vice President for Public Policy” resign in the wake of the scandal. The people responded by quietly “defunding” Komen. They saw registrations for its events decline in places like Maryland and Texas and just about everywhere else.

Komen got put in the “hot seat”. People found it ironic that an organization that features the words “the cure” so heavily in its promotion and mission, an organization that boasts how its “research investment has changed the breast cancer landscape,” devotes such a minuscule and declining portion of its dollars to actually finding one.

Turns out that in 2011, Komen spent 15 percent of its donations on “finding the cure” – research — not even half of what it did just a few years prior. That’s 15 cents out of every dollar that you donated to them, folks.

And what about Komen’s founder, Nancy Brinker? You remember her, that woman whose vow to the sister she lost to cancer has served as the organization’s poignant, relatable narrative… Well, she stepped down as Komen’s CEO.

Did she “quit” or “give up”? No. She just invented a new role for herself in the organization. While she’s still listed on the records as the CEO of Komen, last August she took on a new role as “chairwoman of the executive committee”.

In short, the whole series of trainwrecks perpetrated by Komen was so offensive and appalling that Deanna Zandt, author of “Share This! How You Will Change the World With Social Networking,” called the Komen fiasco a teachable “example of what not to do.”

Leadership. It’s about leadership. You captain your ship and chart your course, steering clear of obstacles or you end up on the rocks… or do you?

It’s 2013. After more than a year of bad publicity and declining participation in Komen activities and events, Brinker herself seems to be doing just fine.

As Cheryl Hall pointed out this weekend in the Dallas Morning News, Brinker made “$684,717 in fiscal 2012, a 64 percent jump from her $417,000 salary from April 2010 to March 2011.

”That’s a whole lot of green for all that pink.”

Hall notes that’s about twice what the organization’s chief financial officer, Mark Nadolny, or former president Liz Thompson were making.

And as Peggy Orenstein points out on her blog Monday, it’s considerably more than the average nonprofit CEO salary of $132,739. We’re talking about five times the average, folks, for a CEO who has placed her ship firmly on the beach. And, the tide is going out, further grounding her vessel.

Of course, rewarding CEOs even as they’re bombing out is a way of life in America.

Appearently, where Nancy Brinker is concerned, they’re using an entire wing of “Stealth Bombers” to deliver her (in our view) unearned cash.

We ask those at The Susan G. Komen Foundation to think long and hard about how they operate. In our opinion, they’re giving themselves a black eye and doing a huge disservice to the “Breast Cancer” community.

Until they do this, we’re going to focus on “local” missions, helping those close to us, DIRECTLY, instead of giving aid to those who pocket most of the funds for themselves. We’d humbly ask you to do the same…

We may just be “small voices” that get lost in the crowd, but if enough of us do this, we can create a chorus that will drown out these “charitable failures”.

Please listen to your hearts and act accordingly.

I want to thank “our special Breast Cancer Survior who gives us so much, every day” and Mary Elizabeth Williams over at www.salon.com for compelling us to run this.

It’s “Springtime”.

That means that all those critters are gonna start making appearances in your neighborhood, looking for food and frolic.

Lots of families are out scouting locations for their new ISBU home in the woods. That’s a great way to spend time with the family, learn about your surroundings and then find that “perfect place” to drop your boxes.

Here in Montana, we’re seeing more and more bears every year. We have grizzlies in Missoula County. While little bears look cute and cuddly, their parents are anything but. They’re serious thousand pound hunks of “Bite-yer-butt-off”.

You need to stay clear of them, unless you’re either crazy, or Chuck Norris.

Ten Ways to Avoid Bears While Camping

(Baselines swiped from the Boy Scouts. I just added my two cents worth.)

If you are traveling through bear country, you can follow these ten ways to avoid bears:

Move food away from where you sleep! Keep your cooking areas and sleeping areas separate (100 yards or so is the rule of thumb). Ain’t it bad enough that your “better half” sounds like a bear when she sleeps? You wanna tempt the real thing? I didn’t think so.

Find a tree and a rope… and then use the limbs. No! Don’t hang the neighbor kid who won’t shut up or gather firewood. Hang food and items with strong odors (ie, toothpaste, bug repellent, soap, etc.) at least 10 ft above the ground or use airtight, bear-proof containers.

Just like home, change your clothes before you sleep. Nobody wants to sleep with you when you’re covered in mud and fire-stink. Don’t wear clothing with cooking or food odors to bed. Trust me.

“Cleanliness is close to your alleged better half not griping at you for hours and hours…” Be clean – wash dishes, and keep people in the cooking area well away from the sleeping area…

Life on the trail is loud and boisterous… unless you’re hunting or stalking prey (or pretty girls from the camp across the lake!). Don’t surprise bears while hiking. Make some noise! Talk, sing or shout back and forth, especially when close to rivers or streams. Remember that water sounds will drown out a lot. Don’t let the sounds of a rushing river mask your approach.

Stay off the “rough bits”. Nobody is impressed at your alleged ability to get scoured by branches and brambles on those goat paths you’re pointing out. Travel on the established trails like normal folk.

More is better. Duh. We all know this. Travel in a group of three or more. That way, if you do irritate a bear into pouncing, you can trip the slowest one as you run away! This, campers, is why I always go camping with my idiot brother-in-law. You need to plan ahead for some things… LOL!

If you’re moving from camp to camp or just traveling through… travel during the daylight hours. Nobody cares if you have “acute night vision”. Nobody cares that you spent all your lunch money on Ebay buying Russian Night Optics. Bears are active at dawn and dusk and they don’t like surprises. And they don’t care what language is embossed on the headgear you’re wearing. They’ll still eat you.

Keep your eyes open. Concentrate on the trail and your surroundings and not the rear end of the girl in front of you. Look for tracks, scat (poop, NOT music) and signs of bear activity.

Boy Scouts are trained to “Be prepared”! Endeavor to do likewise. Study the facts and train your group before you go. Better yet, take a boy scout with you! Find one of those “know-it-all” kids and then insure he’s close enough to trip when the bear starts to charge! Hey, he’s young. He has a much better chance of evading that bear than you probably do. 🙂

Like many hikers, I’ve seen really big grizzly bears in places like the Alaskan wilds and in Montana. As a kid, we lost fish regularly to bears who thought we were surf fishing in Alaska just to feed them. Bears are pretty awesome, but they are best observed from a great distance. Mom wasn’t so awesome as we had to go back to camp and admit that bears ate our dinner. Nothing sucks as much as “Here’s your $&^%#@!! supper” as your mother throws a cold can of pork and beans at you. 😦

You’re not going to just walk up on a bear every day. Those bears easily approached are BAD NEWS. They’re either already used to people (and thus you’re just a slow-moving “bear sized MRE”) or they are sick. In both cases, you should carry your butt outta there ASAP. Spotting or encountering a bear in the wild is uncommon, bear attacks are rare and injuries or fatalities from attacks are even rarer still. But, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen.

You should also know that most bear attacks are usually attributed to people making stupid mistakes, rather than finding bears that are “inherently aggressive”. Despite that knucklehead that had a cable show about living with bears and treating them like people… bears are bears. They walk like bears, they act like bears and they’ll KILL you like bears. They’ll kill YOU just like they killed that idiot who thought they were “warm, cuddly bundles of awesome fur” that needed to be played with. Bears won’t see you as a new playmate. They’ll see you as FOOD. That idiot got what he deserved. I just feel sorry for the bears that he got killed because they were then punished for acting like bears.

You’re in THEIR land. Respect for your location and it’s conditions is imperative to your survival. To do anything less invites disaster.

Have a great time. Just stay alert and informed. You’ll have a great time and you won’t become Purina Bear Chow. 🙂

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YES. We've gone and done it!

It's time that someone "separated the REAL players from the posers" in the ISBU Building Industry.

Increase your ISBU IQ and get all the High Tech SECRET ISBU Container Home Lore that other guys don't want you to know!

Click on the BLUE BOOK Icon to PURCHASE!

Seriously, if you're considering building a strong, sustainable, affordable home using these "wonderful steel building blocks", this is the book for you!

We have HUNDREDS of testimonials praising "Introduction to Container Homes and Buildings", from both family and professional alike!

While this book has been incredibly well received in both the building and architectural educational realms, we aren't just teaching colleagues and Architectural Schools how to build using ISBUs. Seriously, this book has helped MANY families pave the road to housing independence!

We all know that Cable TV has made ISBU construction "fashionable". Because of this... there are lots of "theorists" in ISBU construction right now.

But FEW people actually have any EXPERIENCE building or even using ISBUs. And, you can't find ISBU knowledge coming from real ISBU experts who have been primary players in the industry for years without signing your life away!

That's EXACTLY why we wrote this book! For less than the price of a lunch at a fast food chain... you can fill in the gaps and start building! It's the best $11.95 that you can spend!

Note: This is an E-BOOK distributed in PDF format.

After your payment, you'll get a confirmation email and you'll get a URL code sent to you that will allow you to download the book onto your computer.. This will come directly to you using the email address that you have provided! It's completely painless! :)

And don't worry... we won't get rich selling you this book, either. Funds from this book go directly to "The Corten Cavalry" to help families build homes! We've never needed your support as much as we do now.

Learn ALL the ISBU Facts and TRICKS from EXPERTS who have been doing it for over 3 decades! And you'll help out other families at the same time!

It’s time for INDEPENDENCE!

Reserve a copy of “The Nuts and Bolts of ISBU Buildings”!!

For a very limited time (at a HUGE discount - over 25%), you can reserve a copy of what many will call "THE ISBU Building Handbook".

My soon to be released NEW book is CHOCK FULL of drawings and details. It will show you HOW to turn a Corten Steel ISBU into a strong STEEL home for your family.

And ALL the money from the book PRESALE will be used to help families in need, in some very difficult times!

Here are the DISCOUNTED Donation amounts:

Book Only - $18.95

CAD Drawing/Illustration Package - $39.95

Book PLUS the CAD- Drawing Package - $49.95

And don't forget! Blog Members (you know who you are!) should include their discount code AND DEDUCT the amount from their total!!

The Vault!

The Vault!

DANGER!! DANGER, Will Robinson!

For the record, let me make this perfectly clear...
Blogs are about opinions. And some of us, myself included, have strong ones.
Some of us, myself included, can't be counted on to be "politically correct" all the time. So be advised that I call 'em like I see 'em, and sometimes I use strong language to make a point...
If you don't like that, I suggest you change the channel. If you DO like that, I appreciate your patronage.
This has been a public service announcement from the "We care... we really, really care..." foundation.
Donations are gratefully accepted.

Where do they come from?

"Container Enthusiasts" come from virtually everywhere on the planet! Here's just a brief look at all the places we get visitors from!

You guys and gals ROCK!

THEY COME FROM ALL OVER!

Great News! Wanna stay tuned in to us here at "Container Home Central"?

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Do you know a LEFTY Soldier who needs some “Strat Love”?

For some time now, (in fact, since 2009) we've been rehabbing and sending Lefty Fender Guitars and amplifiers to soldiers overseas.

Yes. We do Gibson's and Epi's too, but it's all about finding affordable "candidates" on a budget.

These axes are upgraded, stuffed into SKB TSA cases and then shipped out with all the goodies our paychecks will allow.

And every once in a while (about 25% of the time) a battery powered amplifier or (gasp!) a solid state or tube amp makes the trip, to insure that the whole squad can share the love that we're sending.

Yes. The amps get packed carefully into ATA cases and then... off they go!

We're NOT telling you this to ask for donations. We're trying to find hard-working men and women currently serving in harm's way... so that we can send them a gift to remind them that we love them and understand their personal sacrifices.

IF you have some old gear in a closet or laying around collecting dust, we'll be happy to rehab it for distribution to a soldier that needs some love.

If you know a LEFTY guitar playing American HERO, we wanna hear about it.

Why lefties? Because WE'RE lefties and we can work on and set up LEFTY guitars. And truth be told, lefties get left out. Lots of righty guitars in circulation. Very few lefties make it into the pool.

We think that sucks, so we're doing something about it, ourselves.

And, know that they'll never know where it came from. "Guitar GIfting" anonymously means just that. We don't need "atta-boys" or pats on the back... THEY do.

And we're gonna make sure they get them.

Feel free to contact us with candidates, or if you find something you think that we can use. We love doing this. And more importantly we know that they love it too.

Send Hate Mail Here: :)

renaissanceronin@gmail.com

Captain America would be proud!

The Secret Strat Project builds Fender and Gibson Guitars and then GIVES them away to US Soldiers serving our country overseas. You see, a little Maple, Alder, Rosewood and Ash can build a bridge all the way back home! If you'd like to help, please strum that beautiful Stratocaster with your mouse and follow the link!